Doctors Rate Skin Care Products

A N A H E I M,   Calif., July 30 -- Television commercials, beauty magazines and cosmetics counters lure customers with a variety of skin care products from exfoliation creams to alpha hydroxy that promise radiant, ageless skin. But do any of them really work?

Some do, and some don't, according to Dr. Marianne O'Donoghue, a dermatologist from the Rush-Presbyterian St. Luke's Medical Center in Chicago, who weighed in on skin care products in a presentation at the summer scientific meeting of the American Academy of Dermatology in Anaheim, Calif.

Skin care products have become a billion-dollar industry, with consumers spending more than $344 million on anti-aging creams and lotions alone.

Skin care products, if used correctly, can have tremendous benefits for the skin, O'Donoghue said. Consumers should choose wisely, based on skin type, she advises. She studied different companies, including Proctor & Gamble, Medicis (maker of Prescription), Neutrogena, Galderma (maker of Cetaphil), Lever (maker of Dove), Beirsdorf (maker of Nivea), Estee Lauder (maker of Clinique, Origins and Estee Lauder) and Lancome.

Oily Skin Avoidance

Those with oily skin should avoid any product with the words "heavy moisturizer," or that contain the ingredients lanolin, petrolatum or isopropyl myristate.

"They are in a lot of products and some women who use them get a condition where they're dry and scaly in the T-zone (forehead, nose, chin areas) and can end up with regular or acne rosacea," O'Donoghue said. A product that is good for oily skin is Cetaphil, which is free of lanolins and non-comedogenic, meaning it does not clog pores or cause blemishes.

Use either no moisturizer or a type that is labeled non-comedogenic or oil-free, meaning it won't give you blackheads, O'Donoghue said. Oily skin sufferers should use makeup that has SPF 15, and is also non-comedogenic and oil-free. And they should wash their skin with care.

"If you're scrubbing your face five or six times a day, the face will counter and overproduce oil," O'Donoghue said. She recommends using a gentle soap like Dove twice a day. Even though it has moisturizing cream, it rinses right off.